Co-led by Professor Keith Hawton CBE, Emeritus Director of the Centre for Suicide Research at the University of Oxford, the series argues that a change in the narrative is needed to move from presenting suicide as an entirely mental health issue to also recognising social factors, such as poverty, debt, addictions, homelessness, abuse, discrimination and social isolation, can have an effect on a person’s decision to consider suicide.
According to the World Health Organisation, more than 700,000 lives were lost to suicide in 2019, equating to 1,925 per day, or one every 45 seconds.
The Series, which looks at the issue from a global perspective, highlights how clinical treatment services are critical for people in a suicidal crisis, but upstream measures that address social factors must also be included in national suicide prevention strategies in order to prevent people reaching crisis point.
The authors say tackling the social factors which contribute to suicide requires a policy re-set with a whole of government commitment to hold politicians and policy makers from all sectors accountable for decisions that may help or hinder suicide prevention efforts – a 'suicide prevention in all policies' approach.